Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella"

Before Midnight A Retelling of Cinderella ONCE UPON A TIME IS TIMELESS Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted His wife has died in childbirth leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name But before he abandons her for king a

Title: Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella"

Author: Cameron Dokey

ISBN: null

Page: 104

Format: Kindle Edition

ONCE UPON A TIME IS TIMELESS Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years i ONCE UPON A TIME IS TIMELESS Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters The lady has married La Cendrillon s father, and her arrival changes their lives When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillon s new stepmother will make a decision with far reaching effects Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.

One thought on “Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella"”

Maybe I should have read this book earlier; when I was 13 and a fresh book lover. I've read a few more Cinderella retellings since then so it's hard to give it any new twists or magic. Its got the basic framework of all the Cinderella retellings: mother dies (check), stepmother and sisters(check), and a happily-ever-after with the prince (check).There is always something different about each retelling that I've read. In Ella Enchanted it was the curse, in Just Ella the prince isn't charming but [...]

Extremely wary was I of this one. There have been tons of Cinderella retellings and begs you to ask the question what could this little book have to offer? A substantial amount as it turns out.Cendrillion is blamed for the death of her mother. Not by everyone mind you but by her father. He wishes to never to see her again until he can receive peace. When he comes to visit his dead wife's grave he brings another life with him. A little baby boy to be exact. His name would be Raoul and he and Cend [...]

”And so the child of cinders went to the ball.”A little pro-tip for authors: if you’re going to write a fairy tale retelling (and make it a good one at that), make sure it actually retells the tale you’re trying to retell. I know it seems like a ‘duh’ statement, but as observed by the atrocity that is this book, it’s a tip that needs to be gone over from time to time. Because while I was expecting a Cinderella retelling, and I got…Something that had the barest inklings of Cindere [...]

3.5 starsApart from the magical stuff, which I don't care so much for, and one "d--", this book was very clean. And it's not like spell kinds of magic, but wishes coming true, so pretty innocent there too. I found it delightfully unpredictable despite knowing that it's a Cinderella talewhich should have made it predictable. There were some really enjoyable twists on the original story, and I loved how it kept me thinking.What brought the rating down to three for me is that the ebook was badly ed [...]

There a millions of Cinderella retellings out there, most of them following the traditional Evil step mother and step sister's story. Usually with the dad having died or away somewhere. This story was not like that.Cendrillion's (as she's called in this retelling) mother died giving birth to her, her father was away when she was born, and came back a few days later. He was devistated by his wife's death and blamed Cendrillion for the death of her mother. He went to where she'd been buried and to [...]

What a pleasant surprise for any lover of retellings of fairy tales!I feared this small book, one of the "Once Upon A Time" series, would be a poorly written disappointment. Instead, it was a well written twist on the Cindrella story. It achieved two ends: 1. The writing style captures the magic that fairy-tale readers long for; and 2. The intriguing analysis of the father, the first wife, and the step-mother adds the new dimension to the old tale.I plan to read more of the series now!

As with Sisters Red (though this is definitely nothing like it), this was not my favorite retelling, but still a charming and solid read. 1. Smart and Sweet Heroine: CHECKCendrillon was a great version of the classic Cinderella. She gave life to a character that I always found somewhat too perfect in other classic versions. She had emotion and heartbreak and doubts, but she always loved others and return was loved.2. Brave and Loveable Hero: CHECKWhile Pascal was likeable enough but I was sad we [...]

I am an absolute sucker for retold fairy tales, and even though the Once Upon a Time series is targets teen readers, I look forward to see what new spin each installment brings to old familiar stories. Cameron Dokey is the most prolific and - in my opinion - best author contributing to the series. In order to craft her own version of the Cinderella story, Dokey went back to the Grimm and Perrault versions of the tale. In a nod to the Grimms, there is a tree planted on the grave of Cendrillon's m [...]

I feel bad for this little book. I read it while I was horribly sick and needed a distraction. The writing wasn't half bad and I enjoyed reading it. I do have to admit that the three-star rating is a bit on the generous side however, for the faults of this book are many. The plot, an unoriginal retelling of Cinderella, was poorly executed, as was most of the character development. The first half of the book was pretty good in terms of pacing but towards the end of the book things felt rushed and [...]

Overall, the storyline was actually quite interesting. If only Dokey had written it better. It had an awkward writing style with several typos and a lack of conflict resolution distorted the tale too much (it seemed to me her step family warmed up to her too fast and were saying how much they loved her before there was really any falling out between them). Similarly, the ending was highly predictable and there was never any depth in the relationship she had with the prince (which I suppose never [...]

I think that there was lots of padding in the first quarter of the novel, and I particularly struggled to get through the pages where the garden was described in intricate detail. It also took a quarter of the book for the wicked stepmother and stepsisters to be introduced, which was far too long in my opinion.

I'll be honest straight off the bat: There is absolutely no conceivable reason why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. It's a (or, as you might put it, ANOTHER) retelling of "Cinderella" - a story that has hardly been ignored in the pantheon of retold fairy tales. I don't think it adds much to the story that's been told time and time again. I truly loved some characters but absolutely detested at least one. And yet, when I put the book down, I was smiling and that counts for something, in my b [...]

Cameron Dokey's contributions to the ONCE UPON A TIME series are undoubtedly the finest, but her retelling of Cinderella is initially a little hit and miss. The series as a whole involves writers taking a recognizable fairytale and tweaking it a little into something that is still familiar but which provides a different point of view. This can involve changing the setting or the time period, removing all the magical elements that make up the original tale, or simply fleshing out the characteriza [...]

Alright Dokey, we had a bit of a rough start together, but you have unequivocally won me over. After Midnight is beautiful!I love how you give your stories sadness and hardships and the characters don't just overcome them, they triumph over them! It turns the story completely on its head and makes the happily ever after that much better!And again, compared to Robin McKinley's brand of mysterious magic that even she doesn't seem to understand nor contain (but still presents as if that automatical [...]

Reviews also on our site:Readers In WonderlandThis novel was okay. Nothing stood out and I did not feel a real reason to keep on reading until the end other than just to finish it. It was not exactly bad, it just lacks an interesting plot, good characters, and progresses so slow. Half the book nothing really happens. Brooke, my co-blogger, did a good job explaining what was in the book and what it was about so I won't go into that. The link to her review is above.Some parts were just confusing, [...]

This book starts out very sad and mysterious, but as the story unfolds it pulls you in. This version is unlike any cinderella story you've ever read. When you meet the stepmother and stepsisters in the story, you're really not sure how the plot will go and you think you already know the storyYOU DON'T. Cameron Dokey did her research for this book and the way her version goes is the most enjoyable and delightful cinderella story ever done. The story isn't too long or too short, it's just enough t [...]

Cinderella has never been one of my favorite fairy tales so I was a little skeptical about reading a retelling. In retrospect I am very glad I decided to read it. For the first time, I can say that I really enjoyed a Cinderella story. I liked the depth that was added to the stepmother and stepsisters. Cendrillon's wish for a mother and sisters seemed to be one of those wishes that inspire people to say "You should be careful what you wish for because you just might get it." However, I was pleasa [...]

Before Midnight was just a wonderful rendition of a classic fairytale. Cendrillon (or Cinderella, however you would like to call her) in this story, is a headstrong, independent smart and beautiful girl. -SHE'S NOT BLONDE!- I loved every single character in this book, especially Old Mathilde -the BEST godmother that could ever exist-. Everything was so smartly pieced together, that I couldn't believe I only read 193 pages. My eyes were glued to the screen (since I was reading the electronic vers [...]

This retelling is my number one favorite (Sorry Ella Enchanted and Goose Girl--you just got bumped). I loved how the story was about the power of love; not just the romantic love at first sight kind, but love that makes the world go around. The characters in this book are real and human. I especially loved how Cendrillon made her own happy ending: not just by virtue of her goodness and beauty and not just by being tough but by combining the two: using her toughness and courage to show her goodne [...]

It was really a mediocre retelling of Cinderella, with some good pieces of writing scattered throughout. Fairytale-wise, a three, characters, 2 and 1/2, while the whole thing with Raoul (spellcheck?) was a bit disturbing to say nothing else. This whole series is a bunch of hit and misses, but I love that they are trying to find new takes on these classics and I always love a new fairytale.

I am definitely a fairy tale groupie (is that possible?!) and I enjoyed this new take on Cinderella. Wicked is one of my favorite books and it too was a different take on the usual story. Lessons in how a situation can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who and how it is explained.

I love it when fairy tales are retold in a way that makes them make so much more sense. This is one of those books. Strangely enough, it also has a magical realism tint to things. For instance, tears cause plants to grow, anger causes a tree to die. The only faults I could find was that sometimes the magical realism was too heavy and that people seemed to fall in love too simply.

It feels weird giving 4 stars to a book that is so short, but I really liked it. I really like the authors writing style (I also love all things Cinderella). I have 3 more of her books from this series sitting in front of me right now, ready to be taken on vacation. Can't wait!

I Loved it! I have discovered I love fairytale retellings. I absolutely loved it. I will admit there were misspelling and some editing needed. However, It took nothing away from pulling me right into the story. In fact I was reading another and just happened to pick it up, and never put it down.

The best one of Cameron Dokey's fairy tales that I've read so far. The other books she's did an alright job of developing the story right up to when the actual action started (Beauty goes to the Beast's castle, etc) and then everything was rushed. "Oh, they love each other! Magic happens! The end!" With this one the love stuff did happen quickly but then love at first sight is kinda a main thing about Cinderella. I didn't really buy the relationship between Raoul and Anastasia, but the rest of t [...]